THE KABBALAH OF TIME:
Kahane and Wainer explain that the calendar is the master key to unlock the hidden rationale behind the formal structure of ancient sacred texts, as well as to understand basic mystical concepts. When comprehended within the context of the Jewish calendar, these works reveal the spiritual energy of each week, serving as a practical guide for self-analysis and development.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Week 18 (Book 4b): Nature as a Metaphor and the Setting for Our Relationship with G-d

SONG OF SONGS:

7. You are all fair, my beloved, and there is no
blemish in you.

8. With me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from
Lebanon shall you come; you shall look from the peak of Amanah, from the peak
of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from mountains of leopards.

9. You have captivated my heart, my sister, [my]
bride; you have captivated my heart with one of your eyes, with one link of
your necklaces.

Week 18 in
the Jewish calendar is the week of Rosh
Chodesh Shevat. Shevat connected
to nature, as it celebrates the Rosh
Hashanah of the trees. It is also connected to emunah (faith) and ta’anug (pleasure).
It is also related to the Oral Torah.

The theme for this week, in
particular the second verse (verse 8), is very much connected with nature. It
speaks of the forest of Lebanon, of various mountains, of lions and of
leopards. Rashi also relates that
this verse to the fact that Hashem is with us in exile, and how He will return
with us from it as well. The peak of Amanah
has the same root as the word Emunah.

Of the
seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the eighteenth
mentioned is Judah. Of all the brothers, it is perhaps Judah that most
represents the importance of the Oral Torah. It was Judah that was sent by
Jacob to establish a yeshiva in Egypt, before the rest of the family came down. Judah also is very much connected to the concepts of pleasure and faith.We see how Judah often played the leading role among the brothers, and showed tremendous Emunah when confronting the viceroy of Egypt, who turned out to be Joseph. We also see that his pleasure-seeking actions (such as those regarding Tamar) got him in trouble, but that he was not afraid to take responsibility for them, and repent.

DafYud Cheit (Folio 18) of Shvuot comprises of a continuation of
the discussion of withdrawing from a Niddah,
how the main thing is to avoid pleasure. It also discusses
separating from a Niddah before her
predetermined period of impurity. Finally, it discusses whether one must know
what made him impure before he forgot that he was impure – it discusses
forbidden foods, forbidden relations with a Niddah, and actions that show lack
of faith, such as workon Shabat and Yom Kippur. Some of the topics appear still related to the previous
month, but are also connected to this month, such as faith and pleasure.

Chapter 18 of the Book of Jeremiah
contains a similar theme to the above. The chapter is about Hashem as the
potter (we need Emunah that
everything comes from Him). It is also about nature and our lack of Emunah, about inappropriate pleasures,
and about “cold flowing water.” It is in Shevat,
that the sap of the trees begin to flow, although we are still in the middle of
the cold winter at this time.

9. And at one instant I may speak concerning a nation
and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant, (…)

14. Shall one abandon [water flowing] from rocks of the field [that comes from] the
snow of Lebanon? Shall strange cold flowing water be abandoned?

The Levanon (Lebanon), which is a forest
whose trees were used for the Temple, is mentioned also in the verses of the
Song of Songs above. Levanon is
often a reference to the Temple itself.

Rebbe Yisrael Taub and his son, Shaul Yedidya Elazer Taub, the First and Second Rebbes of Modzitz

Follow by Email

The date also marks the yahrzeit of emmissaries Gavriel Noach and Rivky Holzberg, who died "Al Kidush Hashem" (sanctifying G-d's Holy Name), as well as the Rebbe's miraculous recovery from a massive heart attack.

eBook

Burial Place of the Mitteler Rebbe, Rabbi Dovber of Lubavitch

His yahrzeit (and birthday) is on Tuesday, the 9th of Kislev. The following day, the 10th of Kislev, is celebrated as the day of his personal redemption.